Nippy

With the weather at the moment being unseasonably cool, we set out this morning with fleeces zipped to the chin for a walk to Osborne's Pond.

Along the water's edge, the Common Reeds (Phragmites australis) are busy producing the feathery flower heads which are so characteristic of British Reed beds.  No doubt the thicket of reeds will be providing shelter for numerous birds and insects too.

Getting home and looking about the garden, I noticed our Cyclamen are flowering now too.  Previously, these delightful little flowers went by the binomial name of Cyclamen neapolitanum, in reference to them being a common sight in the countryside of that part of Italy. They have since been renamed hederafolium to reflect their Ivy (Hedera) shaped leaves, which appear after the flowers. Whatever you want to call them, they make a lovely show - even if they do denote the end of summer and the start of autumn.